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Yoga is an ideal regime that benefits the overall body in numerous ways. The statistics of YogaEarth estimate that Approximately 36 million Americans practice yoga regularly. Yoga offers immense physical, mental and emotional benefits for people of all ages. According to a Statista survey from 2016, the majority of yoga practitioners spend at least an hour practicing yoga every day.

A 35% of Indian adults say they never practice yoga, including 22% who say they do so monthly or less, and fewer state that they practice yoga daily or weekly, as per Pew Research Center. The world celebrates International Yoga Day on June 21 every year to spread awareness about the health benefits and importance of yoga. As this special occasion nears, we have brought you a list of health benefits that yoga provides.

Health Benefits Of Practising Yoga Regualrly

1. Improves Flexibility

There are various yoga poses which vary in intensity from moderate to mild, that you can choose from to practice. According to Healthline, flexibility is an important component of physical health and even the lowest-intensity yoga styles have been found to increase flexibility.

Yoga poses to improve flexibility include downward facing dog, child's pose, cat cow pose, pyramid pose etc. 

2. Stress Relief

Not just physically, yoga has immense mental benefits to offer as well. The American Psychological Association estimates that 84% of American adults feel the impact of prolonged stress. According to Healthline, yoga encourages mental and physical relaxation, which helps reduce stress and anxiety. The physical postures promote flexibility, relieve tension, and alleviate pain. Yoga poses may help you release physical blockages like muscle knots, helping release emotions and tension.

Some easy yoga poses for stress relief include sukhasana, balasana, uttanasana etc. 

3. Improves Mental Health

There are many poses and exercises in yoga that help in relieving stress, tension, and feelings of anxiety, thus promoting better mental health. Yoga exercises and breathing techniques can help deal with depression and other mental health problems. Both movement-based yoga therapies and breathing-based practices have been shown to significantly improve depressive symptoms, as per Healthline.

Yoga poses for mental health include balasana, downward dog, lotus position etc. 

4. Increases Strength

Yoga is immensely beneficial to build stronger muscles and increase strength. Healthline reports that while most people associate yoga with stretching and flexibility, some types of yoga classes are for strength-building. It just depends on the class level, approach, and teacher. This makes yoga asana a multimodal form of exercise.

Yoga poses to increase strength include plank pose, garland pose, dolphin pose, bridge pose etc. 

5. Improves Quality Of Life

The American Osteopathic Association states that regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness, increases body awareness, relieves chronic stress patterns, relaxes the mind, centres attention and sharpens concentration. Regular yoga practice can help in maintaining a good body shape, healthy mind, soul and overall life.

 

(Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.)